Chapter 205

But these are different; they're all being sold under the guise of treating Oripathy.

It can be preliminarily determined that this was done by someone who felt disgusted by the infected person.

This is a common occurrence, but it's more often just out in the open. While there are people who would try to exploit the blockers used to treat Oripathy, there aren't that many.

After all, it's not illegal to openly dislike infected people, but it is illegal to take action against the blocking agent.

Shirou found it hard to understand why anyone would tamper with something meant to save a life.

They were complete strangers, yet they killed each other simply because the other was infected.

Looking at the objective comments and speculations given by Chen and Hoshiguma in the document, Shirou felt somewhat dazed.

He remembered the spring theory that Chen had mentioned before.

If someone compresses a spring to its limit, the spring will either completely deflate and stop springing back, or it will slowly return to its original shape, or... it will be ejected directly.

"Did they do this because of the recent riot involving infected people?"

The reason Shirou could think of for taking such action at this particular time was that the actions of those who called themselves Reunion Movement had hurt these people, which made them want to take revenge.

"You could say that, but the problem with blocking agents in Slums has existed for a long time, it's just become more serious recently."

After thinking about Shirou's question, Hoshiguma gave an answer.

These were inherent risks, but they had always been kept relatively hidden, so no one bothered to pay attention to them.

However, as certain events occurred, these hidden dangers gradually grew larger and became directly apparent to everyone.

While it may not be so massive as to warrant serious attention from Lungmen or the Knights of the Round Table, Chen has at least begun to address it.

As far as Hoshiguma knew, Old Chen had quite a few informants planted in the Slums.

Sometimes, they receive messages even faster than she, a former Slums gang member, does.

"I see... I understand."

Upon hearing Hoshiguma's reply, Shirou let out a deep breath and placed the document in his hand flat on the table.

He had always known about the problems between ordinary people and those infected, but the reality was far more brutal than he had described.

According to the data he had, at least dozens of infected people died because of the unusable blocking agents, the youngest of whom was only a teenager.

"Don't think too much. The priority is to capture the person. Don't let your emotions affect you."

Noticing that Shirou seemed a little off, Hoshiguma offered him some words of comfort.

She was familiar with this job, and just like Shirou now, the Old Chen suddenly exuded a strong sense of gloom.

No, Old Chen still does this occasionally. Last time when Shirou was bombed, he released a very strong low pressure, which even affected Missy a bit.

This is quite understandable; people are angry about those people's behavior, or they blame themselves for not doing enough.

It's not that it's bad, but getting stuck on things like that at work can be very dangerous.

Especially someone like Old Chen, who could wield the Chixiao and wreak havoc on the entire underground parking garage, is already in great danger, let alone someone like Shirou, a human tactical destroyer.

If Shirou gets too angry and doesn't stop himself from taking action, that would be terrible.

At most, Old Chen smashed the basement or the vault, but Shirou could be in danger within a three-kilometer radius of him.

Thinking about this, Hoshiguma felt exhausted.

Unexpectedly, in addition to Old Chen and Missy trying to persuade him, Shirou has now joined the effort.

"Hoshiguma is right. Don't think too much. The most important thing is to catch everyone and prevent another victim from being created. Put your personal emotions last as much as possible."

Chen, who was standing nearby, also shared his experience.

"Oh, I'm fine, don't worry."

Upon hearing their words, Shirou realized that his earlier appearance had worried them.

He did feel a little guilty, after all, he had heard about the problem with the blocker from Lappland, but he later found out that it was just a daily occurrence in the Slums, and apart from the reduced effectiveness, there were no other problems, and the price was very cheap, so he didn't pay attention.

He was just thinking, if... he had continued investigating back then, would these people have survived?

Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs," and he has to accept this reality.

The only thing he could do was assist Chen and Hoshiguma in arresting all those people and handing them over to the Knights of the Round Table so that they would receive the punishment they deserved.

"Hmm... it's good that you're alright."

Seeing Shirou's expression, Hoshiguma immediately looked at her old partner.

"..."

Like Hoshiguma, Chen also looked at the other person. In that instant, the two did not exchange words, but they both reached a consensus in their hearts.

We need to keep an eye on Shirou and make sure he doesn't blow up Lungmen.

Unlike Hoshiguma, Chen knew that Shirou had an even more brutal side.

Lungmen doesn't want to stage another big fireworks display anytime soon.

"Um..."

Unlike the two on the other side who were very worried, Shirou took a sip of hot tea and looked at the information on the document.

It wasn't too complicated, and compared to the materials he had compiled during his previous internship, it was much easier to read.

At least there aren't as many proper nouns as before; most of them are specially marked by Chen and Hoshiguma to make it easier for him to read and use.

Since it was a small operation, Shirou no longer needed to simply follow orders as he had during his internship. He still needed to gather some intelligence so that he could make his own judgments when problems arose.

Shirou first looked at the people who were already known to be behind the scenes.

It's uncertain whether there are other people behind them, but it's certain that these are the people currently giving orders.

Including those who helped from the side, the races included Feline, Perro, Lupo... basically some of the races commonly found in Lungmen.

Despite their different races, are they all on the same side when facing the infected?

Although similar thoughts kept popping into his head, Shirou remained very calm overall.

The things Hoshiguma and Chen were worried about were things Shirou would never do.

Shirou would not, and would not allow himself to, make such a mistake as making a mistake out of anger.

Every time he takes action, he does his best not to affect others.

For example, the reason why the Imaginary Break was not used on the snowfield was because there was a fear that the shockwave from the explosion would trigger an avalanche, leading to an even more serious disaster.

Or, unless absolutely necessary, they would not use anything other than arrows as arrows to shoot.

These were all things he had considered.

Although the more things one cares about, the more constrained one becomes, Shirou will not change this course of action.

Of course, if he encounters a situation that he truly cannot handle, he will abandon this principle.

It would be bad if we lost sight of the bigger picture because of this principle.

These tactical plans were compiled by Shirou based on his own memories and experience, as well as suggestions and experiences from Isv and others. They are the tactical plans that he feels are most suitable for him at present.

There were so many things on Terra that he had never seen before.

Therefore, being conservative is the best approach. His advantage here lies in his Noble Phantasms to change the rhythm of the attack and the release of various Noble Phantasms at any time.

However, considering the speed of information transmission here, Isv advised to conceal his other Noble Phantasms as much as possible in normal times.

It is only used as a trump card to deliver a fatal blow when there is a real need for it.

194 Carp Detective Agency

Since it involves blocking agents, the Knights of the Round Table can only be said to have some involvement in this area, and their knowledge is quite limited.

And when it comes to those who best understand the blocker market...

Shirou's first thought was Rhodes Island's office in Lungmen.

But after thinking about it for a while, I felt something was off. It seemed that the blocking agents at the office were all supplied by Rhodes Island itself, so they might not be familiar with this area.

Shirou then thought of another doctor with whom he had previously collaborated, but who was somewhat strange.

Ah.

Although A was not a proper doctor, nor did he specialize in treating Oripathy, he still had some exposure to the blockers in the slums.

Although it's just Shirou's opinion, it's still very important to gather all the information.

If possible, Shirou hoped to capture everyone involved in the whole affair in one fell swoop, so he would try his best to obtain even the smallest pieces of information.

However, it was already quite late, and Shirou wasn't sure if the other person was resting, so he took out his phone and sent them a message, saying that he had some questions he wanted to ask.

"If someone is looking for you, Shirou, you should go back first. I'll work out the battle plan with Hoshiguma in more detail, and that should be about it."

Noticing that Shirou was sending a message on his phone, Chen assumed it was someone from Penguin Logistics sending Shirou a message.

The feeling of being urged to go back is actually quite nice?

Chen, who hadn't felt this way in a long time, suddenly thought to himself.

"Oh? I've already told Penguin Logistics what they said. They know what I'm doing, and they won't contact me unless it's absolutely necessary."

Upon hearing Chen's words, Shirou was taken aback for a moment before reacting and explaining briefly.

"So, who are you now?"

If no one contacts you, then you're just slacking off, right?

After imagining Shirou slacking off, Chen felt that the possibility was not high, since Shirou had always been diligent and hardworking.

"Oh, this? I'm currently contacting people I know, trying to get more information."

Shirou waved his phone in his hand and said.

"I see... That makes sense. Shirou, you know more people in the Slums. The information provided by acquaintances is probably more abundant and accurate than that of informants."

Upon learning that Shirou wanted to seek out more information from acquaintances, Chen felt there was no major problem.

She and Hoshiguma had already tried their best to obtain information, and since Shirou hadn't been in the Slums or even the entire Lungmen for very long, she didn't ask any further questions.

Shirou doesn't seem like a social terrorist, so his social circle probably isn't very wide, right?

It seems to end with that shop.

Speaking of shops... Chen thought of Purple Casters, who hadn't reported to the Knights of the Round Table for a long time.

That is, Ansuo.

If Chen remembered correctly, there were Ansuo in the Slums who sold information in the past, and she had contacted them several times herself.

When giving someone Lungmen Dollars, she would give them extra, and the next day she would still see them greeting her from inside the prison.

However, she has not seen the other person again, but Chen knows that Ansuo is living a good life in Shirou's shop, living the life that someone her age should have.

Instead of risking everything to survive on the streets of Slums, or even going to dangerous places to gather intelligence to sell.

It's... pretty good.

"By the way, you can try asking Ansuo. She collected a lot of information in the Slums in the past, and maybe some of it will come in handy."

Since they were already thinking about each other, Chen decided to let Shirou take the opportunity to squeeze the other party a little.

If there's intelligence, take it; if not, forget about it.

"Um."

Upon hearing Chen's words, Shirou nodded to indicate that he understood.

He had heard about Ansuo, but when he thought of the purple mochi that used to slump on the cashier's counter, Shirou found it hard to imagine that this mochi was actually a skilled intelligence broker in the past.

However, he didn't care what kind of person the other party was in the past, and he wouldn't let Ansuo continue doing such dangerous work.

Not until adulthood.

I casually sent a message to Ansuo, and got a response immediately.

Ansuo: "I've heard about it."

Ansuo: "I heard that most of them are people who are hostile to the infected. The exact manufacturing location of those blocking agents is unclear, but it is certain that they are not produced in Lungmen, but were transported in from outside. I don't know anything else."

"..."

Looking at the message from Ansuo, Shirou suddenly felt that he should have asked her earlier.